Diversity & Inclusivity

The power of collaboration is greater
when many different perspectives are included.

Addressing Diversity and Inclusivity

A diversity of ideas and contributions, one that originates from a diverse community, from all walks of life, cultures, countries, and skin colors—is vital for building sustainable and healthy open source communities. Individuals from diverse backgrounds inject new and innovative ideas to advance an inclusive and welcoming ecosystem for all. Linux Foundation is committed to building diverse and inclusive communities. Creating those diverse communities requires effort and commitment to creating inclusive and welcoming spaces. We continue to work to address this problem through various initiatives, including:

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Inclusive Language Efforts

Communities that adopt inclusive language and actions will be able to attract and retain individuals from diverse backgrounds. The Linux kernel community adapted inclusive language in Linux 5.8 release showing its commitment to Diversity and Inclusion. For other projects, the launched at KubeCon North America to standardize inclusive language across the industry.

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Open Hardware Diversity Alliance

The Open Hardware Diversity Alliance is a RISC-V incubating project with the mission of bringing together the open hardware community to provide programs, networking opportunities, and learning to encourage participation and support to the professional advancement of women and underrepresented individuals in open source hardware.

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Software Developer Diversity and Inclusion

We are also focusing on Science and Research to Advance Diversity and Inclusion in Software Engineering. Our new Software Developer Diversity and Inclusion (SDDI) project will draw on science and research to deliver resources and best practices that increase D&I in software engineering.

Training and Certification

The Linux Foundation provides free training to women and underrepresented communities to support career development. More than 100,000 women have taken our free, Massive Online Open Courses (MooCs) in partnership with edX.

Diversity and Inclusion at Events

The Linux Foundation and its project communities are dedicated to providing a harassment-free experience for participants at all of our events, whether they are held in person or virtually. Linux Foundation events are working conferences intended for professional networking and collaboration within the open source community.

LF Live Mentorship Series

In this series, maintainers from the Linux Kernel and other projects serve as mentors for discussions around specific technology and topic areas that will help provide guidance and answer questions to help folks fast forward their learning and career opportunities.

This mentorship series is part of a three-pronged approach for mentorship opportunities—LF Live mentorship series unstructured webinars, training and our Mentorship Program—which all combine to help advance a diverse, healthy and vibrant open source community.

LiFT Scholarships

The Shubhra Kar Linux Foundation Training (LiFT) Scholarship Program aims to increase diversity in open source technology by providing access to training courses and certification exams for deserving individuals at no cost to the recipient. Since 2010, The Linux Foundation has awarded over 2,100 scholarships for millions of dollars worth of specialized, technical training to those who may not have the ability to afford this opportunity otherwise.

Click below to see the 2023 scholarship recipients!

LFX Mentorship Showcase

The LFX Mentorship Showcase is an opportunity for graduating mentees of the LFX Mentorship program to showcase the work they completed during their session term, and connect with prospective employers from our member companies.

Linux Foundation Mentorship Programs

The Linux Foundation’s Mentorship Programs are designed to help developers with the necessary skills—many of whom are first-time open source contributors—experiment, learn, and contribute effectively to open source communities.

Partners

The Linux Foundation has provided financial and non-financial support for various organizations to help improve diversity and inclusion in our project communities.